How ‘SNL’ nearly got cancelled during this ‘f–k up’ season — that Tom Hanks called ‘painfully obvious’

nypost.com:

a TV institution, currently in its landmark Season 50 – but the Peacock documentary “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night” reveals how the show nearly died during its disastrous Season 11, which aired from 1985 to 1986. “That eleventh year was probably the biggest risk,” Tom Hanks, who was a host that season, said onscreen in the documentary (which premieres Jan.

16). Hanks is among the exclusive group of “SNL” hosts who have returned to the show 10 times or more. The “Forrest Gump” star’s inaugural “SNL” episode was Dec.

14, 1985, during the notorious Season 11.“The division between what worked and what didn’t work – that was painfully obvious,” Hanks said of his first time hosting the show.Why was Season 11 sometimes called “the weird year?” After “SNL” mastermind Lorne Michaels created the show in 1975, he left in 1980 to pursue other opportunities – before returning five years later.

Season 11 was his “clean slate,” when he got rid of the widely beloved Season 10 cast (which included Billy Crystal) and hired an entirely new young cast to mark his comeback.Michaels filled the cast with several drama actors, including Randy Quaid, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, and comedy actors such as Joan Cusack, Damon Wayans, Jon Lovitz, Danitra Vance, and first openly gay cast member Terry Sweeney.